A stupendous climate change report, complete with extensive interactive graphics on emissions, now can be found on the European Environment Agency site.
Part of the story is about how climate change is making life drier and more difficult in Southern Europe. Story includes a great graph on "water stress" in a country, called the Water Exploitation Index.
Already southern Europe is drier and hotter than in the past, and many nations — including Cyprus, Spain, and Turkey — are struggling with drought and water stress.
Sounds callous to say so, but for Americans, checking to see a graph on how water-stressed a nation is before your next vacation to Europe might not be a bad idea…below is the comparison of current consumption against available long-term renewable water capacity.
Anything over 20% is considered stressed. [As to why the designers of this index couldn't choose the easily understood word "use" instead of "abstraction" — well, you'll have to ask them.]
Next question: How does California and the Southwest compare?
Kit Stolz 